


Prom Night

by Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 13:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18692626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities/pseuds/Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities
Summary: She's not sure if she has what it takes to fight or survive anymore. Bughead oneshot. I do not own the comics or show.





	Prom Night

Betty's heart was thumping harshly against her ribcage, a constant reminder of the danger she was currently facing. She could hear how the Black Hood rattled the doorknob with his good hand and felt the tears coursing down her cheeks. She didn't want to die this way. Not in the janitor's closet on prom night.

Please, just go away.

She pulled her phone towards her, fingers hovering over her dial pad. She needed to call someone, anyone, to help her. She shouldn't have been so naïve to believe that the invitation meant she'd still be alive by the end of the night. Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Betty tucked her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Making herself as small as possible seemed like a good idea in this instance.

"Betts? It's Jug," Jughead's voice filtered through the door, and Betty Cooper felt hope for the first time since getting the invitation. She jumped up to her feet, peeked through the glass on the door, and opened the door, barely giving her boyfriend time to register her presence before she was flinging herself into his arms, crying unashamedly and uncontrollably.

"J-Juggie," she gasped, and felt rather than heard, the way his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close.

"You're okay, baby, you're okay," he murmured. True, she knew he had no idea what he had just walked in on but she was relieved to hear the words, nonetheless. Then she gasped.

"Did you see him? Tell me you saw him," she implored, looking around wildly. She felt exposed and on display for the world to see.

"Who? The Gargoyle King?" Jughead asked in concern, but she quickly shook her head.

"No, no, not him. The Black Hood. He's back, Juggie, he's back," Betty gasped, and she felt Jughead frame her face.

"Take deep breaths, baby. Nice and easy, alright?" Jughead asked quietly, leading her in a breathing technique he used for whenever her anxiety seemed to want to knock her on her ass. She followed to the best of her capability but she still felt out of sorts, something he picked up on.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do, we're going to get you the hell away from this hallway and call my dad," Jughead said firmly, wrapping an arm around her waist. She nodded, tear tracks drying on her face.

"He's already started killing again," she whispered, too afraid to hear her voice echo through the empty halls.

Jughead stopped her. "What?"

"I saw the bodies of some students. He has this hook or something for a new hand," she muttered.

"God," Jughead groaned, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her temple, before moving them forward once more. With his free hand, he called his dad and Betty listened to his side of the conversation as he relayed everything that he knew and asked his dad to come to them.

Eventually, they made it to the Blue and Gold, and Betty surveyed the damage that had been done.

"This is where he tried to kill me," she said quietly, voice hoarse.

"I'll kill him," Jughead growled, rubbing a comforting hand up and down her spine. Betty sighed, sadly looking around the room.

"I destroyed the office in my attempt to get away from him. I'm sorry," she murmured, hanging her head down. Jughead tilted her up with a gentle hand to her chin, waiting patiently until she made eye contact with him.

"It's just a room, baby. Your safety has and will always be one hundred times more important than these four walls," he said softly but firmly.

All Betty could do was nod at this point. The adrenalin was starting to wear off and a cold numbness was sweeping through her bones, leaving a chill emanating from her very core. Perhaps Jughead noticed, because he mentioned he'd tell his dad to bring a blanket, too. She barely heard him through the ringing in her head.

XXX

By the time FP showed up, Betty had almost disengaged from her body completely. She didn't register anything, not even FP sitting down across from her with a notepad in his hand.

"Betts? Betty, are you with us?" A soft voice asked, and she blinked, looking down to see Jughead crouched below her, staring up at her in concern. She noted the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and wondered when that had gotten put on. Then, she noted FP.

"When did you get here?" Betty asked quietly, and FP and Jughead shared a worried look before FP turned to look back at her.

"I just came in, Betty. You're in a traumatic state right now and that's okay. Do you think you can tell me what happened here tonight?" FP asked, voice gentle, as if talking to a scared child.

"The Black Hood is alive," she whispered, shaking hard. She felt Jughead wrap his arms around her, pulling her gently into his chest and drew strength from that. She continued telling her story and the events that happened after getting the invitation.

"The invitation said if I didn't come alone everyone at the dance would die and I couldn't stand for that to happen. I just couldn't," she emphasized, voice stressing her point.

"Shh, it's alright, love," Jughead murmured. "You did nothing wrong."

FP nodded. "Jug is right. Take a sip of water and then we'll continue."

It was then that Betty noticed the water bottle FP had placed in front of her and accepted it with shaking hands. Jughead helped her drink some, ensuring she didn't spill it all over herself, before she placed it back down and took a steadying breath. She continued.

"It was a setup. The bus and the crash," she said, voice hollow. "All to get the Black Hood and the Gargoyle King to work together."

"So, now we have two serial killers on the loose," FP sighed, rubbing a weary hand over her face.

"I'm so sorry, FP," Betty muttered, and he looked at her with a frown.

"What the hell do you have to be sorry for, Betty?" FP asked in confusion, and she sighed.

"If I hadn't allowed myself to be tricked by my father, he would have never been able to get out of the cell he was in in the first place," she explained, but Jughead was already moving to face her, shaking his head.

"Baby, none of this is your fault. Absolutely none of it. The Black Hood was determined to get out; he'd have found a way one way or another," Jughead said.

"Then, why do I feel like I'm to blame for the destruction that is surely to come?" Betty whispered.

FP and Jughead didn't have an answer for her, and neither, did it seem, did she.

Author's note: Enjoy. Kudos, reviews, any type of feedback is lovely! Xxx


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